Vandeventer won the closest match of the morning round, holding on for a 1 up victory. Lamb and Talkington both grabbed comfortable 4 and 3 wins to offset Tennessee losses by Garrick Porteous (3 and 1) and Brandon Rodgers (4 and 3).

Vandeventer started his match on the No. 10 hole and jumped to a 2 up lead after just three holes against Liberty's Ian McConnell. The Vols junior then lost three of the next four holes and was 1 down at the midway point.

But wins at the second, fifth, sixth and seventh holes boosted Vandeventer to a dormie 2 up lead with two to play, and he held on from there. Vandeventer won six holes in his match to five for McConnell.

Strong Finishes by Lamb, Talkington

Lamb began play on the 12th hole and had to rally from an early 2-down deficit after just five holes. The Tennessee junior began his comeback against Liberty's Max McKay with consecutive wins at the par 4 18th and first holes, and he never trailed again.

Lamb then put the match away by winning four out of a five-hole stretch from Nos. 4-8. The lefthander won seven holes to McKay's three.

Out of the Tennessee lineup since the fall, Talkington made his return in a big way by jumping to a 3 up lead in his first three holes. The UT sophomore maintained no less than a 2 up lead -- and that for only one hole -- against Liberty's Niklas Lindstrom the rest of the way.

Talkington led by 4 up at the midway point and won seven holes in his match to Lindstrom's three.

Porteous and Rodgers played even matches against their Liberty opponents until the very end. In both matches, there was a stretch of seven consecutive halved holes.

Porteous started play at No. 10 and won No. 17 to pull within 1 down. He and Liberty's Robert Karlsson then halved the next seven holes before Karlsson claimed back-to-back wins at the seventh and eighth holes for the 3 and 1 victory.

Rodgers began at No. 11 and was all square through three played against Liberty's Chase Marinell. The two golfers halved the next seven holes before Marinell won four in a five-hole stretch for the 4 and 3 victory.

Vols, Pirates Pull Upsets

California advanced to meet Tennessee by virtue of a 3-2 win over UNC Wilmington. Tennessee and ninth-seeded East Carolina were the only two lower-seeded teams to win in the opening round.